I've Been Sleeping Until I Met You
by Suri.Bright
Summary: GaaraxOC..A single parent and a Jounin a a young age. Things were going okay until Migoto Itami meets an old childhood friend: the Kazekage. Wow, time really changes people...GaaraxOC
1. Horrible Past

**_I've Been Sleeping Until I Met You _**

**_Ch. 1 _**_**Horrible Past**_

::_'Let me forget the past, when I look into those eyes, you make that possible.._'::

Here are some basic facts:

Name: Migoto Itami (Last name first, translates to 'beautiful pain'.)

Age:15

Looks: You have long black hair usually kept in a low ponytail with long bangs that hang over your eyes, your headband that you wear around your forehead keeps them out of your nice, blue eyes. You wear a blue short-sleeve shirt, and a fishnet long sleeve shirt under that. You wear a black pair of pants that reach a couple of inches under your knees, and lastly, the traditional ninja sandals.

Personality: Kind for the most part, but a bit of a loner. Now that you are a jounin, you no longer have a team, you mostly do your missions solo. You're very determined and stubborn at times, which can sometimes annoy people. (CoughGaaraCough)

Kekki Genkai: You can control earth, with a few hand seals, you can make the round rise in deadly spikes, slicing into you opponent, but it takes a lot of chakra to do so.

Your past: there is a small tidbit of it, for this chapter, but you have a daughter.

Your daughter:

Name: Migoto Yume (Last name first, translates to 'beautiful dream')

Age: 2 (You were 13 when you had her)

Looks: Short black hair and green eyes.

Personality: Too young to really figure out.

Kekki Genkai: Shows no signs of having one yet.

Past: The past of a two year old..

(The next part will be a bit of your past, but this chapter won't be told in second person. This time its told in third person.)

//Seven Year ago, when you were eight..//

The rough sand blew across the deserted area in Sunagakure. A little boy with red hair and green eyes with dark linings under them sat on a swing, clutching a teddy bear, ad slowly pushing himself.

No one dared to speak to him, so he was alone, mostly everyday was like this, he sat and watched all the other children play, no one asked if he wanted to join in.

A red ball came bouncing by his feet and a little girl with black hair done in two pigtails ran after it with a smile.

The little boy, Gaara stared at the ball a few moments, not even daring to pick it up.

The girl ran over to him and gave him a smile. "Sorry," She apologized as she picked up the ball. Gaara stared at her with wide eyes, no one ever dared to come near him. Was this girl brave, or just incredibly stupid?

She looked at Gaara with her innocent blue eyes. "Hey, you wanna play with me? Its boring to play by myself.."

Again Gaara stared at her in amazement. No one talked to him, he was always shunned. He nodded his head a little and stared at the girl.

She continued to smile. "Home come you don't talk to me? My name is Migoto Itami, what's yours?"

Gaara continued to clutch his teddy bear. "Gaara.." He said in a low voice.

Itami smiled. "Well, then come on Gaara-chan and play with me!"

Gaara gave the girl a crooked smile, he wasn't used to the smiles and stood, following her.

Itami smiled again. "Lets play catch!" She threw the ball at Gaara, it went past him, he didn't move, only continued to stare at the girl.

Itami placed her hands on her hips. "Well come on silly, your supposed to catch it and throw it back at me." Gaara nodded and went after the ball and threw it back at her. Itami giggled. "You don't play much do you?"

Gaara looked down a little and shook his head. Itami smiled. "Well ok then, I'll play with you from now on, you'll be my friend."

_Friend_. This word was new to Gaara, he smiled again and nodded.

This game continued for at least an hour, Itami did a lot of giggling, occasionally a laugh would come from Gaara.

The sun became hot and Itami sat with Gaara under a tree.

"How come your eyes are like that?" She asked.

Gaara looked down and held his teddy. "Because I don't sleep.."

Itami raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I sleep a lot.." She smiled at Gaara again.

"Itami-chan!" Itami looked up, only to receive a sharp slap to her face. Tears stung her eyes as her mother forced her up.

"Itami-chan, you shouldn't play with him, hes a monster!" Her mother yelled.

Itami looked at her mother. "No mommy, he isn't! He's my friend!" Itami received another blow to her face.

"Stop it!" Gaara cried out, clutching his teddy tightly.

Itami's mother looked at him. "Stay out of this you demon."

"Mommy! Don't call him that!" Itami yelled angrily.

Itami's mother's eyes flashed with anger. "I'll call him what I please, we're going home, now!"

Itami's eyes widened in fear, she knew her mother was going to beat her when she got home. She looked back at Gaara with tears.

"Sayonara Gaara-chan.."

As her mother roughly dragged her along, she stopped suddenly. Her mother looked down to her feet to see sand slowly creep up her legs.

Itami looked back at Gaara. The sand seemed to be coming from him. Itami's mother held onto her daughter tightly instead of letting her go to save herself.

"You're coming with me," She hissed.

Itami's eyes widened in fear. "No let me go, let me go!" She cried, but her mother wouldn't.

Somehow Itami broke free from her mothers grasp and ran away to hide. In the distance she heard her mothers scream and the sounds of bones crushing. Itami covered her ears. "No!!"

Gaara heard her cry, but he couldn't stop the sand Itami looked back at Gaara.

"Gaara-chan.." she whispered his name.

The rest is a distant memory.

//Four years later (Age 12 for you)//

After your mother's death Itami lived with her uncle, who was a sick perverted man. His eyes always lusted after her, until she reached puberty.

Itami never saw Gaara again, her uncle kept her at home, the only time she came out was to go to school to train as a shinobi.

One night when Itami was asleep, her uncle came home very drunk, and snuck into her bedroom.

"Uncle! What are you doing?!" Itami yelled as he climbed into bed beside her.

"Shut up and don't move!" Her uncle instructed. But Itami didn't listen, she struggled with all her might. Her uncle punched her to keep her quiet as he groped her body.

"Uncle please stop!" Itami cried again. Her uncle ignored her and continued to touch her eventually touched her more private areas.

Itami was stunned with fear, she couldn't move because of it, only scream. Soon her screams bounced off the walls louder as her uncle raped her, passing on his seed to her.

The next day Itami, bruised and sore killed her own uncle, and ran away to live in a tea house as a servant, there she discovered her pregnancy and gave birth to a daughter, Yume, at the age of 13.

Thought Itami's heart was filled with hatred, she couldn't give up her daughter, her blood. So no matter what, she decided to love her.

At the end of her pregnancy Itami returned to training, training harder than ever before. Now, as the story begins she is 15, a Jounin, and she has her whole life ahead of her..

_By Ayashi8_


	2. You Don't Know Me

**I've Been Sleeping Until I Met You**

**Ch. 2 _You Don't Know Me_**

_This smile hides what lie behind these eyes..::_

If it wasn't the sun or the banging on your door that would wake you up, It would have to be the heat, but this time is was the banging on your door. Gently you got out of bed so you wouldn't wake Yume, your two year old daughter. When she was awake, it was bad. The knocking on your door continued. You knew who it was, your two least favorite people.

Angrily you open the door. "What?!" You demand, staring into the face of your two former teammates Sano and Hirata. (Both guys, I know the name Hirata will throw you off)

Sano smirked and allowed himself in, Hirata followed after him. "Oh, sure you can come in," You grumbled with sarcasm. You weren't much of a morning person.

"Good morning Itami-chan," Sano said with another smirk. Sano had brown hair and dark eyes. For all the years you knew him, he always annoyed you. Sano always held his head up with a stuck-up manner, he usually thought he was better than most people.

"It will be, once you leave," You say.

Hirata smiled a bit. Hirata was the other member of your former team. He had blonde hair and green eyes. He was more quiet than Sano, but he still bugged you for the fact that you had a daughter.

You sat on the arm rest of your black leather couch, your arms folded across your chest. "So, what do you want? I didn't expect to see you anymore."

Hirata looked to Sano, letting him do all the talking. You rolled your eyes, whenever Hirata was silent, it meant bad news.

Sano smirked and held up an envelop Your name, Migoto Itami, was written across the front in bold kanji.

You eyed the letter. "What is that? Who gave that to you?"

Sano smiled as you snatched the letter from his hands, tearing it opened. "Its from Suna's finest."

Your eyes quickly scanned the paper. 'Great..' You think, an angry groan escaped your lips. You rubbed your eyes in anger as well as tiredness. What a fine way to start the morning.

Hirata looked at you. Even if you didn't like each other, he still respected the fact that you were a former teammate. "They told us to give you that.."

You sighed. "I know, but..Why? I've always preformed perfectly at missions, even with Yume there. How can they reduce me to doing missions only inside Suna?" You read the letter again, it said:

'_To Migoto Itami:_

_It has come to our attention that you are a jounin at a young age. We are glad to have someone with your skills assisting this country, but, it has come to out attention that you have another issue, a more personal problem._

_Looking over your records, it is shown that you have a daughter at such a young age. It is also indicated that you have no family that is alive, other than your daughter. We feel that it is best you are no longer sent on any more missions that are B-Rank and higher that go outside of the country until your daughter has come of age to be a shinobi, if that is the past you chose for her. Even so, we are allowing you to continue doing missions within the country, or if you feel that you are ready, you may be a candidate to become a teacher for aspiring Suna Shinobi._

_Approved by,_

_The Fifth Kazekage,_

_Sabaku No Gaara _

Sighing again you folded the paper back up and put it away. "Just because I have a daughter? So? They should have known this before, I need to talk to them.." Anger was something you can easily keep contained, giving you a calm appearance, but inside, you were boiling with rage.

Sano smirked a bit. "It really has been fun being partners with you, Itami-chan."

Hirata gave you a reassuring glance. "I'm sure you can convince them somehow."

You smiled a little and stood. "Thank you, both of you, now, if you please, get out, I need to get ready."

After seeing them out the door you head back to your room and look at your bed, where the sleeping Yume lied. You smiled a bit. 'All because of you, huh?' Touching her head gently you smiled a little. 'Why did I keep you again? You only get in my way, you cute piece of trash.'

Walking over to the balcony you open the windows and allow the warm breeze of Suna to rush in. 'What if I can't convince the Kazekage? What was his name? Gaara?'

Gaara.

The name stirred your memory. Shaking your head slightly you looked out at the village for a few more minutes until you hear a bit of crying.

"Mommy!"

Sighing you walk back over to your bed to see Yume sitting up with a happy smile. You smirked a bit. 'You don't know how much pain you cause me, do you?' Yume held her arms up, longing for mothers touch. Picking her up you smiled. "We need to go shopping today Yume-chan, we need more food, and pay a visit to Gaara-sama."

A few hours later after breakfast and a quick shower you carried Yume to the inner village of Suna. You needed some supplied for home, rice, meat, and the like. Carefully you put Yume down.

"Yume-chan, stay with me, don't go anywhere," You cautioned. Yume didn't really seem to listen, she only stared contently around at all the bright colors.

Looking at the items that the outdoor vendors had to offer, you lost yourself for a while. The beautiful trinkets and materials caught your eye. Looking down at Yume, you made sure to see she was okay still.

"Yume-chan? Yume-chan!" Yume who was right by your feet wasn't there anymore. Panic started to fill you. 'Where did that brat run off to?' You wonder as your eyes scanned the area for her.

"Yume-chan!" You called out again, not seeing a sign of her. You curse under your breathe. 'Where did she go now?'

"Hey brat, watch it." You turn to see some guy maybe a year or so older than you look down at Yume, who seemed to not pay attention to him. You breathed a sigh of relief once you spotted her.

You walked over to the guy, he seemed annoyed, maybe he didn't like children. "Sorry," You apologize quickly as you picked Yume up. You gave her a stern look. "I told you to stay put Yume-chan."

The guy that Yume hade run into had short messy hair and paint on his face. He looked at you. "Are you her sister?"

He had asked i the /i question.

You looked up at him and gave him a small smile. "No, she's my daughter."

The guy's smile falters. "Daughter?" He gave you the look that mostly everyone gave you when they find out Yume is your daughter. You kept that bright smile on your face. "Yeah, she's my daughter. Again I'm sorry that she an into you like that."

The guy smirked a bit. "No trouble at all. What was your name again? I'm Kankuro."

You gave him a small smile. "I'm Migoto Itami. Well, Kankuro-san, I have to go now." Kankuro gave you a smile behind your back as you walked away. 'I'll shop later, when Yume is asleep, for now, I need to visit the Kazekage.'

Making your way to the Kazekage's office you took a deep breathe. 'What is he rejects me and keeps me away from the missions? I can't handle that!'

You stood outside the office door a few moments before knocking. "Wish me luck," You mutter under your breathe to Yume who simply smiles at you.

"Can I help you?"

Turning a girl older than you with a fan on her back and her hair held up parted in four bundles looked at her. You knew her to be Temari, the go between of Konoha and Suna.

You gave her a smile. "I'm here to see the Kazekage, I was given a letter by him."

Temari smiled at you. "Oh, Gaara isn't here right now, but I can help you." She walked ahead of you into the office, and you followed, slightly confused that she would address the Kazekage with such casualty.

She looked at your daughter, then back at you. "May I see the letter you were sent?"

Taking the letter out of your pocket you hand it to her and watch her read it, the corners of her mouth turned down a little as she folded it back up and handed it to you. "So you're Migoto Itami, and that Migoto Yume?"

"Yes."

Temari gave you a small frown. "Gaara and I feel that you should wait a few more years before you do anymore dangerous missions. At least wait until Yume-chan gets a little older."

You shook your head a little. "Forgive me, Temari-san, but I don't understand. I have participated in many dangerous missions when Yume was younger, why would you tell me to stop performing on these missions now?"

Temari sighed. "Because its shown that you are her only living relative and if you were to die on a mission, Yume-chan would have to be sent to another family, and that shouldn't be necessary; and as you can see, the letter says that you can still participate in missions that are within Suna."

You nodded. "Yes, I read that part, but is there any way I can change your minds? Yume doesn't get in the way of the missions and I can handle myself easily.."

Temari sighed again. By the look in her eyes you could tell she was getting annoyed by this. "We understand that, but if something were to happen to you on a mission, what would happen to your daughter, how would you feel?"

You raised an eyebrow and fell silent. 'I couldn't care less.' You thought. "If something were to happen to me on a mission, then something will happen, I wouldn't be able to change it. How about you give me a mission then, I'll take Yume with me and you can see that I can take care of her and myself."

Temari eyed you. "Well..Gaara isn't here for the moment, he's away on his own mission. Come back tomorrow and we can really discuss this further."

You gave Temari a smile. "Thank you, and I will come back tomorrow." Shifting Yume to your other hip you turn to leave.

"Wait."

You look back at Temari with a raised eyebrow. "You're only 15. Why do you have a daughter so soon?"

You smiled a little bit. "Yume-chan is my love child. There's nothing more to it. Good-bye."

Walking home you carried Yume who had fallen asleep as you were shopping. It was a bit of a struggle to carry the grocery bags as well as her.

"Hey, if it isn't the Migoto from Old Lady Aya's place."

You looked to see two young men behind you. You rolled your eyes and kept walking. 'Stupid local thugs that have nothing better to do than pay for women.'

Both young men walked faster and stood in front of you blocking your path.

"Move," You hiss.

They smirked. "I don't think so, not until we have some fun." One of the guys say.

You rolled your eyes and walked around them, only to have your path blocked again.

"So how much are you?" They looked at your daughter. "You shouldn't be to expensive, considering you already had a daughter."

You looked down a little, a shadow covered your eyes. "What..Did..You say?"

One of the guys smirked. "You heard my friend. Even the other local whores are more careful than you, you must be really desper-"

Putting your grocery bag on the ground you quickly take out senbon and throw them at both of the guys, hitting their arms and legs. "Shut up! You don't know anything."

They glared at you.

"Whore!" One of them yelled.

You stopped dead in your tracks. Taking out more senbon you launch it at them, piercing more of their bodies.

"Say anything else about me, I'll kill you."

"Why you-" One of the guys started to yell, but his friend held an arm in front of him.

"Calm down Genro, she isn't worth it." Walking away, you smirked as both men pulled out the senbon you embedded in them.

Picking up your bag of groceries you continue home again, not realizing that you were being watched from someone with darkly lined green eyes.

**_by Ayashi8_**


	3. Survival Excercise

**I've Been Sleeping Until I Met You (Gaara)**

**Survival Exercise (Part 3)**

'_Give me chance, and I can prove that I am not as worthless as you think..'_

The next morning you got up early and got ready quickly. You were still slightly upset from yesterday, and the run in with those local thugs didn't help your anger.

After a while you woke your daughter. "Yume-chan, time to get up now, we have important business to do today."

After dressing your reluctant and sleepy daughter you head back to the Kazekage's office. 'I'll take whatever the Kazekage throws at me,' you think with a smirk. Soon you found yourself standing outside of the building, you sighed and looked at your half-sleeping daughter. "Wish me luck," you murmur to her. "Home," Yume simply whined in response.

Walking down the hallways you reach the Kazekage's office at the other end of it.

"If it isn't Itami-chan," You turned to see Kankuro from yesterday, you gave him a small smile.

"Good morning Kankuro-san, did you have business with the Kazekage-sama as well?" you ask, engaging in friendly conversation.

Kankuro smiled again and walked over to you. "No, actually the Kazekage is my brother." he explained. He looked down at Yume in your arms. "Well isn't she cute," Kankuro remarked through gritted teeth, as if he forced himself to say it.

Yume took one look at him and cried. "Ugly!" She wailed burying her face against your chest. You sweat dropped as Kankuro's eye twitched. "Brat," He muttered. You smiled a little. "Sorry about that, she's not a morning child," You apologize with a small smile. "Now please excuse me, I have my meeting to get to.."

Knocking the door to the office you wait patiently until a voice came from the room. "Come in," A male's voice permitted.

Opening the door you notice a young man with maroon hair and darkly rung, aqua eyes sit at a desk. A memory suddenly came back to you as you stared at him.

"_How come your eyes are like that?"_

"_Because I can't sleep.."_

The young man gave you a quizzical look. "Is there something wrong?" He asked, he showed no emotion in his voice, as if he was used to the stares.

You shook your head and smiled a little. "N-no, sorry, I was just thinking about something. You are the Kazekage, Gaara-sama, correct?" You ask.

Gaara nodded and looked at you. "Yes, and exactly why are you here again?" His tired eyes searched you as if he was remembering something as well.

From your pocket you took out the letter you had received yesterday. "I was told I could no longer perform missions because of my daughter, Yume-chan."

Gaara took the letter from you and re-read it. He looked up after a few moments and looked at you, then at Yume in your arms. He sighed a little.

"We feel that its best that you take some time off until Yume-chan gets older. You will still be able to perform missions here in Suna, but lower ranking missions..."

Sighing inwardly, you cut him off. "Excuse me, Gaara-sama, but I have been on many dangerous missions in the past and having a daughter wasn't an issue in the past, why is it an issue now?"

Gaara kept his aqua eyes on you, they did not waver, nor did they show any emotion. "We only discovered you having a daughter only recently , you shouldn't be putting your life in danger like this."

Biting your bottom lip you told yourself to breathe, this was upsetting and very annoying. 'I got to think of something!' You think hurriedly in your mind. Then a thought hit you.

"Gaara-sama, excuse me, but I have an idea. What if you give me a mission and I take Yume-chan along. You can come as well, and you can watch me, you'll see if Yume will be in danger or not. If I pass, then I can continue with the missions, but if I fail, I'll agree to what you want."

Gaara blinked slowly, he remained silent for a few moments, thinking on your proposal.

'I could give her a task to perform, and if any harm comes to her daughter then I will intervene. If she does pass, then I'll have no choice but let her continue with the missions.'

Gaara's eyes trailed back up to you, he sighed inwardly. "Fine, if you can prove to me that you can perform a mission without endangering your daughter then I'll let you continue with the missions."

Your blue eyes lit up as you smiled a nice smile. "Thank you! So when is the test?"

Gaara looked down at his desk and looked at his papers on it. "I have a lot to do, so later tonight."

Your eye twitched slightly. 'Tonight?! I sleep for the majority of the night though!'

Gaara eyed you. "That won't be a problem will it?"

You gave him a closed eyed smile. "No, it won't, I'll be ready."

As you turned to leave, a smile graced your lips, you pulled Yume closer to you in happiness, making her twitch a slightly in her sleep. As you closed the door to the office behind you, you spot Temari on her way to the office, she smiled a small smile at you.

"Did you talk to Gaara already?"

"Yes, he said he'll give me a chance to prove I can still do dangerous missions."

Temari's smile turned down a little as she continued to look at you. "Really? Well I wish you luck then." Temari turned away and continued on her way to see Gaara. You smirked a bit and continued your way home, knowing Temari was mad at Gaara for his decision.

You looked at your daughter and sigh a little. 'I should sleep for most of the day so I can be awake for the night,' you decide making your way home.

/Later that day at night/

The sun finally went down at you woke up at 8 pm. After taking a quick shower and changing, then taking care of Yume and feeding her you left your home. Yume smiled up at you. "Mommy?" She asked confused, normally you didn't go out late unless it was a mission.

You smiled at her. "Today we have something important to do, Yume-chan so I need you to act good," Yume giggled a little and smiled up at you. "Be good," She repeated back. Despite the fact that you didn't love Yume like you should, she still made you smile when no one else could.

Walking to a clear area you decided to train for a bit, working on your accuracy and speed, as well as your jutsu. Yume sat several meters away from you, playing with a dull shuriken.

After an hour you took a look at all your handiwork, the large rocks that were once whole now lay scattered in dust and in small pieces. You wiped the sweat from your forehead and smiled a little as you made your way to Yume.

Yume looked up at you, her small fingers were cut, but she didn't cry, she was used to this. You smiled a little as you bandaged her tiny digits and took away the shuriken, putting it in your pouch. Once you finish tending to her you picked her up and headed back the Kazekage's office.

'I'm so ready for this, now why he can keep me out of missions..'

Walking back to Gaara's office a small sense of nervousness arose in you. What if you actually did fail, despite the fat that you felt so confident? You sighed a little and took a couple of breathes, everything would be fine.

You knocked on the polished wooden door to Gaara's office, again his voice told you to enter and you did. In Gaara's office Temari and Kankuro were there as well. Gaara looked at you with no expression, seeing all of them together made you slightly nervous.

Kankuro smiled at you a little, his eyes searched you in a perverted way, making your eye twitch slightly. Temari was silent, she looked upset that Gaara had agreed to this, only Gaara spoke.

"Are you ready?" He asked you in his calm voice.

Your confidence came back, you closed your eyes and let a small smile grace your lips. "As ready as I'll ever be."

The smallest smirk came to Gaara's lips as he stood from his seat and headed towards the door. "Alright then, follow me."

Walking after him Yume wiggled in your arms. You looked down at her, even though she was only two, she seemed a bit smarter than other children, she was silent when necessary and she spoke more than kids her age.

"What is it Yume-chan?" You asked concerned.

"Scary.." she mumbled, her green eyes trailed to Gaara's who was walking beside you. Despite the fact that he overheard you giggled a little under your breathe. "Yume-chan that isn't nice to say," You say sternly and give her a look. Yume nodded and rested her head against you, keeping her gaze on Gaara.

Gaara eyed the child from the corner of his eye then looked down at again. Your slight giggle seemed to stir something in his mind. He closed his eyes as he probed his mind a bit, trying to remember. A little girl with black hair done in pigtails smiled in his mind, her eyes were large, happy, and blue.

_'You're nice Gaara-chan. I like you.'_

"Gaara-sama."

Gaara looked at you. "Yes?"

"Exactly what kind of mission are you giving me?" You ask, hoping he'd give you some information.

Gaara kept his eyes forward as he walked beside you in the darkness of the night.

"Its not really a mission, its a survival exercise. If you can get through it without your daughter getting hurt then you pass. But if she gets hurt then you fail and you have to do what we ask of you."

You sweat dropped slightly. 'All of this over Yume-chan?' Yume furrowed her eyebrows in concentration, she knew they were talking about her, but what they said she didn't know.

Gaara was silent for the remainder of the walk, you didn't mind too much, night wasn't something you noticed much since you usually slept right through it.

"We're here." Gaara announced as he stopped.

Looking around the area seemed somewhat familiar, there were high cliffs and the area was filled with sand and boulders. A forest-like area surrounded you, from there appeared several figures, they stopped and bowed to Gaara.

Gaara looked at you. "These jounin and ANBU are going to be the ones training you, they will attack you like a normal mission and you must dodge their attacks. They will also go after your daughter so you must protect yourself and her."

You smiled and nodded setting her down. She looked up at you confused. "Why put me down Mommy?" She asked as she looked from you to Gaara.

You smiled and pulled out the dull shuriken and handed it to her to play with. "Mommy needs to fight now, you know what to do Yume-chan." Yume nodded and occupied herself with the shuriken you gave her.

Gaara fixed his darkly lined eyes on you. "Are you ready? I won't interfere with this unless necessary, but I will be watching."

Your eye twitched for a second. 'What a great boost of confidence,' you think before smiling. "Yes, I'm ready, bring it on."

Gaara nodded and walked out of sight. The shinobi that had stood before you quickly disappeared out of sight as well, each went in different directions.

Closing your eyes you took a deep breathe. Your hand moved to your kunai pouch, your other hand hovered over the place you kept your senbon. Opening your eyes, they showed no emotion, they were only there, watching everything around you.

'So I wait for them to attack?' you wonder as you continue to look around.

A bright glint caught your eye. Drawing a kunai you stood in front of your daughter, several shuriken shot out at you. Bringing your kunai in front of you, you blocked each one of them, they lay scattered at your feet.

"Now!" A voice that sounded oddly familiar shouted from behind you. More weapons shot out from behind you and from all sides of you. You cursed under your breathe as you became surrounded.

'If I block one side, I'll get hit by the other,' you mused silently. Taking your daughter in your arms you moved quickly trying to dodge the attacks. Some shuriken pierced your arms as you held your daughter.

"Mommy!" Yume yelled as your blood fell on her.

You smirked a bit as you put her down a distance away from where you started. "Don't worry Yume-chan, I'm alright," You reassured her.

"Move faster Itami-chan." The oddly familiar taunted as a figure dressed in black came into view, he had several kunai in his hands, he launched each at you and at Yume. You noticed on the kunai they had exploding tags on it.

You cursed angrily as you picked up Yume again and jumped out of the way of the kunai as they exploded, showering rocks over you.

'That voice..' you think angrily, trying to remember.

Sano.

"Sano," You hiss angrily into the night.

The figure smirked. "You finally caught on Itami-chan," He spoke with hate.

You smirked a bit. 'I should have guessed he was behind this, he was always jealous I was stronger.' you thought.

Several more ninjas came out from the hiding place and surrounded you. Yume gripped her dull shuriken by your legs, she has never been in something like this, she whimpered a little.

"Mommy, I scared.." She whispered.

You nodded and brought your hands together. "I know Yume-chan, this will be over in a second though.." The shinobi surrounding you brought out there own weapons and stared at you, of all of them only Sano knew your technique.

Sano smirked. "That won't work Itami-chan, I know your moves, you can only hit one person at a time."

You smirked a little. "I got stronger Sano, I thought you knew."

Quickly doing hand seals you concentrated your chakra to your hands.

Gaara watched from the shadows in the distance the look in your eyes surprised him, they were strong and angry, almost blood thirsty. Gaara kept his arms crossed as he watched you, the look in your eyes made him twitch, it was something he knew.

'What does she plan on doing?' He wondered as he blinked slowly, as if not wanting to miss anything.

The hand seals stopped, around your hands a green chakra glowed from them, illuminating your face and the ones around you.

"Now!" Sano ordered, the ninjas around you threw their weapons at you.

"No!! Mommy!" Yume shrieked sensing the danger.

You smirked a bit. "Don't worry, I can handle this," You reassure her.

Bring your hands together in a clap the earth around you moved. Moments later the weapons never came, dust swirled around you and your daughter, there were some moans.

Your eyes showed a sense of satisfaction. You touched your arms they were wet, looking a your hands you smirked a bit, they were wet as well, with red. Crimson liquid was all around your feet, the smell of blood filled you.

You picked up your daughter and held her to you, so she wouldn't see the sight. You didn't kill everyone around you, you only took out four people, and the others were either unconscious or injured.

Gaara witnessed this from the distance, he saw a bright flash of green before the earth moved, then blood splattered, he made his way over to you. He gripped his arms tightly as he kept them crossed. His eye twitched slightly at the blood, he almost desired making blood spill as well, but he contained himself.

It was Yume shriek that made him remember all those years ago, she sounded like you all those years ago, when Gaara killed your mother on accident.

You looked up at noticed the Kazekage walk towards you, his face showed no emotion, but his eyes showed the slightest hint of anger. You ignored it and kept a straight face.

"Did I pass?" You ask, hoping that all your strength was necessary.

Gaara looked at you and remained silent for a few moments. "Yes, but the deaths weren't necessary."

He looked at the ones you killed, there were four of them, including Sano, each had hardened sand pierced through their body. The other men were unconscious as you predicted and few were injured, though not critically.

You smirked a bit. "I did what I would have done on a mission, and this was more than a survival task, one of the men here wanted me dead."

Gaara continued to look at you. "The death of some of my best Jounin and ANBU was not necessary.."

"Maybe you shouldn't have used the best." You cut in. After you killed someone, you weren't in the best of moods, you became darker, not your usual smiling self, what you needed as sleep.

Gaara glared at you now, not may people dared to defy him. He closed his eyes to keep from getting angry at you. "Even so.." He restrained himself from saying what was in his mind.

You looked at Gaara. "Then if there is nothing else then excuse me, its late and Yume-chan needs to sleep."

"Hey, Gaara, did she pass?" In the distance Temari walked over to you. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of the blood.

Gaara looked at her. "Yeah she passed.."

Temari set her eyes on you. "Did you kill these people?" She asked. After all, you didn't look like the type to kill, you looked rather fragile and weak.

You nodded. "Yes, I did, I did what I thought was necessary." Yume looked at you, she had been with your through these moments, you hugged her close to you, it was times like this that you could truly love her.

"Now please excuse me, my daughter needs to sleep, good night."

Bowing slightly you walked past Gaara and Temari.

Gaara looked at you. "Itami," He said your name for the first time the whole day.

You stopped and looked at him. "Yes Gaara-sama?"

His eyes bored into you, causing you to look down. "I remember you from my childhood, I never thought that you could do this. What happened to the girl that screamed at the sight of blood?"

You smiled a little, a shadow cascaded over your eyes. A small laugh escaped your lips. "She died, she died along with her innocence." A brief image of your uncle flashed through your mind, angering you. Turing your back you continued home, pulling Yume close to you, the thought of a cold shower sounded like a longed for salvation at the moment.

Yume looked at you, she looked at your shirt, is was splattered with blood, despite her young age, she knew it wasn't yours.

Gaara watched as you disappeared into the darkness. Your words played again in his mind.

Temari eyed her brother.

"Gaara, what was that about?" She asked raising an eyebrow, the look on her brothers face surprised her.

Gaara closed his eyes and looked back down at the bodies, the unconscious were now waking and the injured were healing themselves and healing their companions.

"She was the first that talked to me. She was the first to never call me a monster."

* * *

**_Ayashi comments: Sorry it's tkaing me so long in updating on this! I already wrote and finished this story on another account on another website, and I get lazy in coming here since I'm always there. TT.TT Well I promise to get this story finished soon so I can start other stories. _**

**_Again, gomen nasai!_**


	4. The Feelings Surpressed Begin to Arise

**I've Been Sleeping Until I Met You (Gaara)**

**(Part 4)**

The sun poured through the slits of your blinds, waking you from a short sleep. Looking around you sighed a little, Yume was sleeping peacefully beside you. The memories of last night came flooding back to you.

'That right I passed that test..And I for into one of my moods again..'

Getting up gently, so you wouldn't wake Yume, you took a quick shower and dressed quickly. Today, there wasn't too much today, actually there was nothing to do at all.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!!

You sighed a little. 'Why do people enjoy bugging me so early in the day?' Looking through the peep hole of your door, it was Hirata, his pale skin was paler than ever.

'That's right, I killed Sano last night..' you remembered as you opened the door for your former teammate.

Hirata looked at you, his eyes were truly sad.

"..."

Hirata looked at you. "Why?" He finally managed. You looked back at him, you did not blink, like you said last night, it wasn't your fault Gaara used the best against you.

"He had it coming to him.." you replied evenly.

Hirata's voice shook a little. "He was my cousin Itami-chan..You didn't know that did you? You didn't know he was the only one I had left, and you killed him..I always protested against Sano's harsh words against you, but it seems that was all for nothing.."

You looked away from Hirata, it was true Hirata was kinder than Sano to you, a small pain in your heart was felt, not for Sano, but for Hirata.

Hirata sighed a little, you knew he was always soft hearted, so he would never touch you even after all that you did.

"Itami-chan..I can never forgive you for this, you killed what was precious to me.."

Before you could respond Hirata left, this was probably the last time you saw him, for he let himself out of your house, a sad air lingered in your apartment. Leaning against the arm of the couch you blow a strand of dark hair out of your eyes. Normally after times like last night, it left you a bit emotionless so you didn't care too much.

Walking to your balcony you sat on the bench built into the wall of it and rested your head on your arms and over looked the country of Suna. IN the distance you could see Gaara's office.

'I wonder if he is mad from last night..' The thought of him went through your head, his words got to you a little.

"_What happened to the littler girl who screamed at the sight of blood?"_

"_She died along with her innocence.."_

A light blush fell across your cheeks. 'He remembers me..' It made you smile that someone like him would remember you, you still remembered him, he was adorable at that age, and now..

'Well he is kind of cute..'

You blushed harder at the thoughts.

'What am I thinking about? He's my Kazekage, I can't fall for someone like him, I mean..'

'Can I..?'

"Mommy!" A loud but childish voice called to you, Yume was awake, you sighed a bit.

"Coming Yume-chan.."

**Gaara's POV**

Sitting at your desk you over looked the paperwork there was left to do.

"..."

Your thoughts turned back to the night before, to Itami and the strength she displayed last night.

'Was that really the girl who I met so long ago..' You wondered. Your darkly rung eyes closed for a moment, in thought.

Her younger childish form came back to her, and her smile came back, a small smirked twitched at the corners of your lips.

'She has a daughter..'

That thought stopped you.

'How could someone like her have a child..? She doesn't seem like the type..' Sighing inwardly you return to the work you'd rather not do..

**Back To your (Itami's) POV**

The day dragged on slowly for you, you spent it training. Now the moon hung high over head. Yume had fallen asleep by a tree, holding the dull shuriken in her hands. Again you felt blessed that you had a somewhat smart child, not an annoying little one.

The larger boulders around you were now small rocks, training your Kekki Genkai took a lot out of you, so you sat against the base of a tree, wiping the sweat from your brow.

After resting for a few minutes you got up and picked up Yume gently. She cried out a little in her sleep in protest to being moved, but then adjusted to get comfortable. Sometimes you couldn't help but love her cute face.

After placing her in bed when you arrived home you took a quick shower. The summer night was so nice and cool you decided to sit on the roof for a bit, the cool air would help you think your thoughts.

'Maybe tomorrow I should ask Gaara-sama for a mission..'

'Another opportunity to see him..' Another blush came to your cheeks as you thought of him.

A shadow fell over you, looking behind you, your blush became a little deeper, but you quickly contained yourself.

"Gaara-sama.." You spoke easily. As calm as your voice sounded, for some reason, you inside were churning with shyness, normally you weren't shy. You looked back out to the moon, aware that the presence of your Kazekage was still beside you.

Gaara remained standing, he looked out in the distance, ignoring you for a bit. He finally spoke.

"Shouldn't you be asleep, you like sleep, don't you?"

You smiled a little, "Yeah, but I needed some time to think.."

Eventually the Kazekage sat beside you, there was an air of an awkward silence between you and Gaara. You looked at Gaara and smiled a bit.

"Its been a long time since I talked to you." You said with a small smile, referring back to the time when you were kids.

Gaara remained silent and looked off into the distance, as if deep in thought. "You can remember that far back?"

You smiled a little more, finding common ground made the air less awkward. "I remember, I remember what you did to my mom.."

That brought the silence again, now an uneasy one..

"Thank you.."

Gaara looked at you quickly, those words surprised him. "Why?"

Closing your eyes a little you hugged your knees to your chest. "I wasn't happy back then, so in your own way, you kind of saved me..My hero." You half joked.

Gaara looked away again. You bit your bottom lip in thought, sometimes after killing someone you got moody, so you said a lot of things that were out of character for you. "Gaara-sama, I'm sorry about last night.."

Gaara kept a blank stare and looked forward. "Its fine..Maybe I should have done what you said.."

A small laugh escaped your lips. Gaara didn't seem like the type that would exactly apologize for something.

Looking out at the moon you realized something over the years, after you met Gaara for the first time that day, you did see him sometimes, only a few times over the seven years, he always seemed to be alone. "...Why are you always alone? It seems like whenever I saw you, you are quiet and not paying attention to what's around you."

Gaara kept a look out on the moon. "Why does it matter to you?"

A small smile graced your lips, despite the smile words like that cut into you, why? Who knows. 'I barely know Gaara-sama and yet the words still sting.' The best answer you could think of was the truth. "I was just wondering, its kind of interesting.."

Gaara looked at you from the corner of his eye and remained silent. 'Exactly what is she thinking?' he wondered.

A few more minutes of silence passed before you grew tired, being the sleeper you were you realized you were losing precious hours.

"Well I should go in now, I want to have energy for missions, and I hate it when Yume-chan wakes up in the middle of the night and cries when I am not there..Good night" you finished with a smile.

The maroon haired Kazekage wanted to ask her why she had a daughter, but he resisted from doing so, for her it could be a touchy subject. Gaara nodded slightly as he watched you disappear over onto a balcony and into an apartment.

"_My hero.."_

The words stayed in Gaara's mind, giving him another thought to think about.

Lying beside your daughter you sighed inwardly. The face of your Kazekage remained in your mind, why though? Life moved perfectly before you really talked to him, you were able to raise Yume and get through being alone, and when other people came around you just pushed them away. This time it was different, Gaara wasn't someone you wanted to push away..

Yawing you closed your eyes, shutting down your body for a slumber, letting your thoughts take you over..

* * *

**_Thanks so much for reading this. I'm sorry I haven't been updating much but I just get really lazy. I'll try to update more and I'll try to get out a new story that I haven't written on another account _**

**_Thanks for baring with me!_**

****

**_Serena_**


	5. And Life Goes On

I've Been Sleeping Until I Met You (Gaara)  
And Life Goes On..(Part 5) 

(Recap) Talking to Gaara, might not be an easy thing to do for most people, but you were able to talk to him, maybe that night was an easy night, or maybe he wanted to talk to you as much as you wanted to speak with him. Either way, a small understanding was somewhat met.

_Only time can determine how a heart will heal.._

(Quiz Start)

Its been three years since you were tested by Gaara, now you were 18, and Yume, five. Life did go on after that test, you completed your missions, some were more difficult than others, but Yume was never hurt.

And over that course of time, its said that the Kazekage had warmed up to you, that now you and him were friends on mutual levels.

"Yume, move faster! Go to the left!" You instructed. Your daughter moved as fast as her five year old body could move, quickly she moved to the ground as a couple of shuriken came at her. You waited a bit as Yume lied on the ground, panting heavily. As she got older you started to train her in your spare time, and for a five year old she was not as incompetent as the other kids her age. 'Must be the Migoto blood in her..' You reasoned with a smile.

Yume finally stood up and faced you, her body quivered, it had reached its limit, and yet she stood again. You watched her for a few moments, your eyes overlooked her, you smiled gently. "Ok, that's enough for today Yume-chan," You finally said. You sweat dropped as Yume plopped on the ground again.

You walked over to her and sat beside her, gently you brushed her bangs out of her eyes, she needed a hair cut, her hair was now to the middle of her back. She looked up at you and smiled. "Did I do good mommy?" You nodded and smiled. "Yes, very good, you'll soon become a strong shinobi, maybe stronger than me." Yume smiled at that before picking up the corner of her shirt and wiping her sweat from her face. You smiled again. "Let's go home, and eat now."

After taking a quick shower and eating you sat with Yume on the roof for a bit, watching the sun set. Yume smiled up at you again, now that she was older you told her more, and took her with you to more places. Yume looked up again. "Oh! I want to see the pretty stars!" She exclaimed. You nodded, "Ok then."

You looked at her, despite her cheery attitude, just seeing her made you sad, this life, wasn't the life for a five year old. She deserved better, your eyes hardened again at the thought of her birth, why you even had her in the first place. "Tomorrow we're going to see the Kazekage for another mission," You decided.

Yume kept her head up, not looking at you, she was too distracted with the sunset. "Ok Mommy, as long as I don't see that clown man."

You giggled behind your hand. She still had issues with Kankuro. Again your touched Yume's head, she looked at you and snuggled against you. She looked at the stars and started to mutter under her breathe. "One..two..three.."

Quirking and eyebrow you looked at her. "What are you doing?"

"Counting the stars. 13, 14, 15."

You smiled. "Maybe you should sleep instead of that, you did a lot of training today."

Yume tried to hide a yawn. "But I'm not even tired.." You smiled a little. "Fine, how about you go lie down for ten minutes, if you can't sleep then, you can stay up with me." Yume looked at you. "Really?" You nodded, she smiled happily then ran back into the house through the balcony.

Hugging your knees to your chest you sighed a bit. 'I need to do something about her, she can't go on like this, I have a feeling that one of these days I might not be able to protect her..' Ten minutes later you got up to check on her and sure enough she was fast asleep, closing the door to her room you went to your own and crawled into bed, you mind plagued with thoughts.

// The Next Day//

After getting up early and showering you and Yume went to see Gaara for another mission.

On your way to the office you spotted two of the Sand Siblings. Kankuro looked at you and gave you a perverted smile. "Yume-chan, I knew you were coming by soon. You look hot today."

Your eye twitched.."Umm..Thanks..Is Gaara-san in today?" You asked Temari. Temari had eventually gotten used to you as Yume got older, she regarded you with a cold respect, but there was an understanding between the both of you. Temari nodded and nodded her head in the direction of the closed door. "Yeah he's in there figuring something out.."

You nodded and knocked on the door before entering, Yume was closely beside you, she hadn't uttered a word yet since she saw Kankuro, if she did then she would have been in trouble.

Gaara glanced up at you for a few quick seconds before looking down at his work again. "What do you need, Itami?"

You smiled gently. I'm here for another mission, again.." You said as you quirked an eyebrow wondering what was making Gaara so distracted. Gaara looked at you. "..."

You sighed a little, it was somewhat funny when he was like this, after knowing him for about three years, you knew he hated this work..

"I might have a mission for you.." He said suddenly after a few more seconds of silence.

You smiled a little, "And I thought you didn't need me. So what is it?"

Gaara looked at you and blinked slowly before glancing down at Yume. "This is a mission you cannot take Yume on.."

You looked down at Yume, her face twisted in a small pout already. "Mommy.." She whimpered a little.

You looked down at her then back at Gaara. "I don't know about that.."

"Itami, this is something you and I need to discuss alone.."

'Alone? What exactly is this mission?' you wondered, now getting very curious. You sighed and looked at Yume. "Yume-chan, can you go outside for a little bit?"

Yume looked at you. "But Mommy.."

"Now, Yume-chan.."

Yume pouted a bit before crossing her arms and leaving the office, slamming the door behind her.

You moved closer to Gaara's desk. "What exactly is the mission, Gaara-san?"

Gaara looked through his papers before finding what he was looking for. "There is word that there is an attack being planned on Suna, and I need to go on a mission to find out if that's true. I will leave Temari and Kankuro here to guard Suna for me, but I need someone trustworthy to go with me."

A slight blush fell upon your cheeks. "I'm flattered, you find me good enough."

Gaara gave you a look. "Itami.." He said in a tone that made you stay serious.

You smiled a little. "Ok, and this mission is too dangerous for Yume? She has been with me on all of my missions, even on the most dangerous, and she hasn't been harmed."

Gaara sighed inwardly and closed his eyes for a few moments. "That may be true, but something like this, we will have to move fast and she might get in the way."

Gaara looked at Itami. He knew what Yume meant to Itami. You shrugged a little. "Well if that's the case, I guess I can find someone to watch her for a while.." The truth was, you were nervous about leaving Yume, you never left her, you were always with her. "You think Temari and Kankuro can watch her?" You asked, hoping he would say yes.

Gaara looked at you. "I guess they could.."

You smiled. "Great then, Yume won't be too much trouble. How long will we be gone?"

"For a while, until I can get to the root of the problem.."

You looked at Gaara, there was no definite answer in his reply. "I have no idea how long we'll be gone. I haven't been away from Yume-chan for too long, what would happen while I am gone.."

"When do we leave?" You asked with a small smile.

"As soon as possible, you'lll need to pack a small bag for things such as clothes and weapons."

You nodded, "Ok then, so I'm guessing we'll leave today?" You asked.

Gaara nodded, "So pack a bag, then maybe pack a bag for Yume, so she can live here for a little while.." You nodded and smiled a little at Gaara. "I'll meet you back here in a little bit then," You said as you left the office.

Yume looked at you. "Are we going on another mission, Mommy?" She asked brightly, to her, these missions were just a game. You smiled a little at your daughter. "Basically, but you won't be going with me.." Yume's happy face fell. "Why? Why can't I go?!"

You and Yume made it home, and you began to pack some clothes in a bag for her. "This mission will be too dangerous for you. But I promise I'll be back soon.."

After packing her bag, your hands shook as you packed a bag fro yourself, Yume had started to cry. "But, mommy, I don't want you to go.."

You sighed and smiled sadly. "I have to, Yume-chan.."

After packing both bags you walked back to the Kazekage's office. Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara were all in the office, each of them looked as though they were waiting for you. Gaara was already ready, his gourd was already on his back.

"Mommy.." Yume whimpered again. You smiled a little and placed her bag down. "Temari and Kankuro will take care of you, and then I'll come back, and everything will be okay again."

Yume's face contorted into a sad pout as she cried some more. "But I don't w-want you t-t-o go.."

You looked away from her. Gaara, Temari and Kankuro still watched in silence. "I'm sorry Yume-chan.." You said as you stood up straight and slung the bag over your shoulder. You smiled a little at Kankuro and Temari. "You'd both better take care of her, or else.."

Kankuro smiled. "Of course Itami-chan.." He then muttered under his breathe, "I hate kids.." Temari smiled a little bit. "Kankuro will be taking care of her most of the time, I'll be too busy.."

Your eye twitched slightly. 'I'm beginning to have second thoughts..'

Gaara looked at you. "We should go now," He suggested. You nodded and smiled one last time at Yume. "Bye Yume-chan, and please be good for Kankuro and Temari, and don't get in their way.."

Yume didn't seem to hear you, she only cried more.

You and Gaara left the office and started to walk towards the village gates. "I didn't know it would be that painful for you.." He said in his low voice.

You smirked slightly as well. "I didn't think it would be that painful either.."

You walked beside Gaara in silence now. This silence was awkward. For now, Yume was on your mind, you were nervous for her..

Gaara looked at you from the corner of his eye and remained silent for a while longer. Soon you were well passed the village gates and it was still silent between Gaara and you, you decided there was a need for conversation.

"What exactly are we supposed to do on the mission. You said we were looking out for someone. Let's say we're attacked by enemies, do we kill them right away, or what?"

Gaara's eyes remained focused on the road ahead. "Don't kill them right away, we still need more information. Only if its really necessary and you are in a tight position then kill them.."

You nodded, "Understood."

Gaara's eyes moved over to you, there was something he was meaning to ask you for a while, but he didn't think it would be right to ask.

You looked at him and smiled. "What's wrong? You're quieter than usual, even though you're always quiet."

"Nothing.." Came Gaara's simple reply. The sun started to set already. "We should stop for the night and rest."

"I can keep on going through the night if you want me to," You offered, knowing very well that Gaara did not sleep. He shrugged slightly. "Its best to rest while you can, if you don't then if we need to fight you will get tired easily."

You smiled again. "That's sweet, I didn't know you cared.." Gaara simply blinked and looked away, with what you thought was a light blush on his cheeks.

You smiled again and sat against a tree, the thought finally crossed your mind, causing you to blush. You would be alone with Gaara for a while..

So began, your first night alone with the Kazekage..

* * *

Finally, I can update, I'm sorry for taking so long to update and all that stuff, but I've been too busy, and/or simply too lazy to updte. ' Well, anyway, I hope you enjoyed! 


	6. Tell Me About You

_**I've Been Sleeping Until I Met You**_

**_Chapter 6: Tell Me About You.._**

_...Sodateta mono made  
Jibun de kowasa nakya.. _

_..The things we are brought up with are destroyed by ourselves.._

* * *

Leaning against a tree you pulled out a cloak from your backpack and draped it over your shoulders and around your mouth lightly, getting close to the borders of Suna there were large and frequent sandstorms that never really seemed to go away. Besides, you didn't want to sleep, you wanted to keep Gaara company, but by the looks of his solitary figure leaning against the tree as you did, he looked as if he didn't want your company, or anyone else's.

You sighed and closed your eyes briefly. 'Who would attack Suna..' You thought as you tired to think of countries stupid enough to do so. You walked over to Gaara who was a few trees away, his eyes remained calm as they glanced at you. You smiled gently. "Nothing yet?" You asked, trying to create small talk.

"No.."

This wasn't working.

You sighed and puffed out your cheeks slightly. 'Why is this so difficult, coming up with something to talk about?' you wondered.

You bent your head as you leaned against a tree, keeping the dust out of your eyes. Gaara's aqua eyes watched you silently. "…." His normal calm and collected thoughts were slightly made nervous as he too searched for something to say.

He knew what he wanted to say, actually. There was one question that burned in his mind for the longest time, since he met you again.

You glanced at Gaara again, he seemed so unfazed by the stinging sand as it hit him, maybe he was used to this. You smiled a little and chuckled under your breath. 'For the few years we've known each other, it's still like the first day I met him, I still know so little about him..'

The strong wind stopped blowing and you sighed in relief. You moved over to Gaara and stood beside him, leaning against the same tree.

"Tell me about yourself." You said suddenly.

Gaara stared straight ahead and blinked a couple of times, that question was very random.

"What do you need to know?" Gaara asked in an even voice, all emotions gone from it.

You shrugged slightly. "I don't know, just tell me about yourself, I realized I hardly know anything about you."

Gaara moved his aqua eyes and fixed them on you. "I can say the same thing about you."

You smiled a little. "Fine, how about you tell me some things about yourself and then I'll tell you about me?"

Gaara didn't answer right away, he closed his eyes for a few seconds before he slowly started to speak. "I grew up not knowing the love of a mother or father, my own father has tried to kill me many more times than I can remember. My uncle, the only one I thought who cared about me ended up committing suicide in an attempt to kill me. I was supposed to go with him as he died, but my sand protected me."

You listened to Gaara intently and nodded your head slightly. "I'm sorry.." Was all you managed to say. As you looked back on your past, you thought you had it worse than everyone else, or at least worse than most people. But until you heard his story, you realized how wrong you were. There were others in the world that suffered more than you.

Gaara kept his arms crossed across his chest. "..And what about you, what's your story?"

"It's almost pathetic compared to yours."

"I'll judge that on my own."

You blew out slightly, blowing your long bangs up. "Fine then." You closed your eyes and searched for the words to say.

"When I was little, my parents were..'hard'. I wasn't the fastest learner, so they got mad at me easily, sometimes they would hit me until I got something right. After my father died on a mission, it was just my mother and me. After my father's death, my mother became bitter, she blamed a lot of things on me, I was a 'curse', 'useless', she 'wished I was never born'. And then, one day, I met you and after that day I became an orphan,"

Out of the corner of your eye you saw Gaara tense, his grip tightened as he balled his hands into fists, though he still kept his arms crossed. You closed your eyes and continued.

"After that, I moved in with my uncle, a drunk and a gambler. Then one night, when I was 12 or 13, he came home drunk. I was afraid so I stayed in my room, normally he would abuse me when he was drunk, and I just can't raise a hand against a family member. Then that night, he stumbled into my room and 'had his way with me', then I had Yume-chan. Then within the same week, I was so fed up with this life style, I finally threw away my morals and killed him."

Gaara looked at you this time. His eyes searched you briefly before he looked away. "Temari told me Yume was your love child."

You smiled a little and let out a soft chuckle. "That's what I tell everyone. I don't need people feeling sympathy for me, I don't need people coming up to me saying 'I'm here for you and it's not your fault.' Besides, since people think I'm a little slut then they leave me alone. Solitude isn't that bad when its what you're so used to."

Gaara nodded his head slightly. "Does that mean you don't care for Yume, whether she lives or dies?"

That was a hard question.

"I honestly don't know. There are some days where I love her so much, she is the last thing in the world I have, my reason for staying strong, but other days, I look into those wide green eyes and I see my uncle, and I can't stand that. But if she was in danger then I wouldn't hesitate to save her."

Gaara nodded again and became silent again.

Gaara's head suddenly shot up, he calmly looked around.

You arched an eyebrow before sensing a different chakra. This chakra held something..a bloodlust..

Gaara glanced at you quickly. "Be on guard, don't kill right away unless its really necessary."

You nodded. "Got it.." you replied.

In a large cloud of dust that caused you to cover your eyes you felt dull pain along your arms and legs as what you guessed to be shuriken and kunai hit your legs and arms.

You removed your arms from your eyes and looked up. Gaara was beside you, he was unharmed as expected. You looked north.

"It came from the north.." You mused aloud.

Gaara nodded as his sand returned into the gourd he kept on his back.

You kept your eyes fixed on the assumed area that the attacks came from, but no one came out from that area.

Out of no where several people dressed in black came out, their faces were masked, so you couldn't make out their identity.

One of them spoke in a deep voice, most likely the leader of the people. "I hope you had your chance to kiss one last time before you die."

You quickly scanned the people dressed in black. There was no sign of a head band indicating their affiliation. Finally it hit you..

Assassins.

"Be on guard," you heard Gaara mutter before you stepped away from each other, eyeing your new enemies..

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Okay, well here's the chapter, hope you enjoyed it! 


	7. Promises

_**I've Been Sleeping Until I Met You**_

**_Chapter 7: Promises_**

* * *

Recap: As Gaara and you were talking, getting to know each other better, you were suddenly attacked by ninjas without a headband, assassins.

Quiz Start!

You moved a small distance away from Gaara, giving him his room and creating your own space. There were only six assassins, three went after Gaara, and three went after you.

Quickly the surrounded. You got into a defensive position. Before you attacked you decided you would ask questions. "Who are you and why are you here?!" you asked, your eyes kept watch on each of the assassins.

One of them spoke up. "We are here to kill the Kazekage of Suna and his accomplices. You can either leave and live or you'll die here with him!" You smirked, your hands came closer together, ready to move into hand seals when the time was right. "I'm not leaving."

"Then die!"

The three rushed at you at the same time, wrapping chains around your body they pulled tightly, so tightly that eventually you would be ripped to shreds. And then, eventually you were.

One of the assassins laughed a little. "That was too easy, now we can go for the real problem."

Gaara noticed this in the corner of his eye. He had the three assassins that went after him in a sand holed. A small feeling moved in Gaara's heart. 'Itami..'

From the trees and shadows of the night, kunai flew out and hit the assassins in that had attacked you. "Basic substitution," You explained with a small smile, taking more senbon.

Gaara smirked slightly at your back as you faced your assassins. The three that attacked you pulled out the kunai from their arms. "Stupid girl," one of the assassin muttered, running at you. Flinging your senbon at them you quickly pulled your hands into some hand seals. Soon a faint green glow came from your hands. Clapping your hands together a rise of earth came up, knocking the assassin over, and knocking him unconscious.

You faced the other two. Your hands glowed green again. Kneeling quickly you pressed your hands to the ground and focused your chakra on the earth. Quickly the other two assassins were buried up to their chins in a coffin of rock.

You smiled a little. 'That was for calling me stupid.' Gaara couldn't help but smirk at you and your jutsu. Looking at it, it easily resembled his own Sand Coffin technique.

You raised an eyebrow at Gaara's smirk. "What?" You asked. Gaara closed his eyes and shook his head. "What information did you get from them?"

You smiled a little before hardening your gaze and returning back to business. "Nothing, only that they are here to kill you and your accomplices."

Gaara nodded. "That's what I got from these three as well." You shook her head, "We should give them one last chance," you said, maybe they will talk now.

Gaara shrugged but did as she said. "Are you willing to talk now? Tell us, who sent you." Gaara asked calmly, with ought batting an eye.

The six in the their confining hold squirmed but glared at Gaara and you nonetheless. "We'd rather die than denounce our leader!"

You looked at Gaara. "What now? Kill them?" you asked, knowing what his answer will be. Gaara gave a short nod, then slowly tightened his sandy hold on his three attackers.

You face your own attackers, doing several hand seals you put your hands to the ground and raised your earth hold over their heads, slowly suffocating them, then crushing them. You winced slightly as you did so, very rarely had you used this attack on people.

Gaara noticed your wince, he smirked a little, but also, there was a sense in him, a feeling he had always known, but never cared too much about except for now. Watching you wince at the blood, a normal thing to do, he realized, that he must seem like a monster to you.

You felt the watchful eyes of your Kazekage on you. You turned and raised an eyebrow at him. "Is something wrong?" you asked.

Gaara closed his eyes and shook his head. "No," He answered simply, there was nothing wrong, he can't control your emotions, and yet, there was something wrong, he didn't want you to think of him as a monster, if you even did think of him at all.

You looked around, there was still a lot of the night left, six people were sent to attack Gaara. Who ever this assassin is, if he is willing to sacrifice six people, then he would be willing to sacrifice more. Six lives were six to many for an assassination. 'At least Gaara is ok,' you thought. You knew perfectly well that Gaara didn't need your help, he was more than capable of taking care of himself, after all, he takes care of Suna.

Even so, a small part of you worried for him, that one day, he will meet his match.

The thought made your blood run cold. 'No, that can't happen to him. He's too string and too careful for that.' You snuck a small glance at Gaara, he was standing against a tree, his arms crossed across his chest. He was staring off at the sky, at the moon. At that moment a thought hit you. A thought that almost everyone would call biased.

As you watched Gaara look at the moon, you realized that at this moment, he looked so vulnerable. Despite his hard, cold exterior, despite his expressionless and emotionless eyes, he looked so…alone.

Gaara's eyes turned in your direction and realized you were watching him. "What is it?" He asked, though not coldly.

You shrugged a little and smiled weakly. "Nothing..I was just thinking.." You walked over to Gaara and leaned against the same tree he was against, you were so close that your left arm made contact with his right. You looked up to the same moon he did.

Another thought came to you. You looked at Gaara and smiled a little before looking back up to the moon. Clasping your hands together in front of your chest you closed your eyes for a few brief moments, making a wish, a vow.

_ Kasun de yuku yume no kakere ya  
Shizun de yuku hitori ni somaru yoru mo  
Kasanari au toki no kizuna ni  
Iyasareteku  
Kimi ga koko ni iru kara_

_Soaring through my clouded dream  
I sink into the night that I colored alone  
We lay together, bonded by our friendship  
And I'm healed  
because you're still in my heart_

'No matter where this life takes us, I want to be at Gaara's side as long as I possibly can, as a friend or as..' You finished your wish and smiled a little, mentally sealing the deal.

Day broke a few hours later, Gaara and you had remained silent through the night, you had stayed up with him. Not being used to staying up without sleeping you rubbed at your eyes constantly. 'I really need a nap right now,' you thought, crying mentally.

Gaara looked at you, he noticed how tired you looked, he couldn't help but smile ever so slightly now. "We're going back for now," He said suddenly, starting to walk back to the main part of Suna. "We'll come back later tonight."

You smiled a little. "Thank you.." you muttered under your breathe, once you got home you decided you will sleep. Besides, you were interested on seeing how much damage Yume had caused.

The trip back to the main part of Suna was much quicker, upon seeing the gates you smiled a little, becoming wearier by the minute. Gaara smiled a little at you, noticing the bags under your eyes. They were nothing compared to his dark circles.

At the village gate, you saw Yume. You smiled a little, your daughter was a comforting sight, how she knew that you were going to be there was a mystery. 'I'll ask her later,' you thought.

"Mommy!" She cried happily, waving to you, you smiled a little and waved back. She looked at Gaara and stopped waving, her eyes held thoughts in them, as if she was making a decision. Then she smiled again and waved at him. "Gaara-sama!"

You giggled under your breathe a little. "I think she likes, you, Gaara-kun," you observed.

A small smirk tugged at your Kazekage's lips. "It seems like it," he agreed.

Smiling at Yume again, your ears rang with her shrilling scream. "MOMMY! BEHIND YOU!!" Turning quickly you were too late. It seemed as though your mission wasn't over. More assassins came.

"Mommy!" Yume screamed again, as an attacker went to kill you. He paused slightly and looked away from you. "Loud brat," the attacker muttered, throwing three kunai at Yume.

This action passed in slow motion. No weapon pierced you, or drew your blood, but where the weapons landed, pierced your heart, killing you from the inside out.

You heard a quiet thump on the ground, Yume, falling to the ground.

The attacker let out a small 'hn' of satisfaction. "Good, now the kid is quiet." He faced you through his mask, covering his face, "Now, to deal with you,"

A wave of numbness overtook you. 'Yume..' Your eyes filled with sadness and hatred, taking out a kunai you turned quickly on the man that had hurt your daughter. Plunging the kunai into his chest you quickly moved into your hands seals.

Once your hands glowed with green you clapped them together, creating a large spike form the ground, making it pierce his body.

His blood spurted onto your face, hands, and body. Turning you looked for more signs of assassins, noticing two more, you turned your anger on them, letting them meet the same fate as the one who had harmed Yume.

"Itami!" Gaara's voice growled at you loudly. You didn't listen to him, turning away from the blood mess and pushing past him, you sprinted to Yume. "Yume!" you called her name. Three kunai lay next to her, Temari had pulled them out, for she had been behind her when the attack happened.

Yume was hanging on by a fraction, only by a line that divided one between life and death. Yume's eyes fluttered, "Mommy, don't leave again,"

The numbness left you in another wave of emotion. "I won't Yume-chan, I won't.." You looked at Temari. "Temari! Please, go find medical-nins now!"

Temari's dark eyes filled with worry before she hardened them again, with a slight nod she was off. Gaara had moved to your side again, but he was a bit behind you, giving you the space you probably needed with Yume.

You put Yume on your lap gently. "Yume.." You muttered her name, silent tears fell from your eyes. Yume grew paler as the minutes passed. "Mommy, when you and Gaara-san were gone, I was an ok girl. In the day I waited for you and was mean to the clown man and Temari. But at night I was a good girl and went to sleep, waiting for you.

You smiled gently though the tears. "You're a very good girl, Yume-chan, I couldn't ask for more.."

The medical-nins finally came, rushing over to Yume's side they placed a glowing hand over her. The kunai had punctured her vital points deeply. "She only has a few more minutes to go," on of the Medical-nins' said gently to you.

And within a few minutes, Yume's eyes fluttered last time. "I love you mommy, don't cry, I promise I'll be a good girl.."

You smiled a little more, "I love you, Yume, and don't worry, you're always a good girl." Rarely did you ever tell her you loved her, but now, as she was lying there, you realized, how much you cared for her. How she loved you, for you, no matter how shady your past was..

Yume smiled one last time before her grip loosened in your hand. The tears that held welled in your eyes now fell heavily, like a rain storm.

Gaara and Temari had moved a small distance away from you and Yume, unsure of what to do. Gaara had to look away for the most part, Yume's blood, and all the blood in general stirred the old feeling of bloodlust in him again.

Finally, you had to let go, you realized she wouldn't come back. "Yume, I'll avenge your death.." you murmured gently to her, praying that maybe, wherever she was, she would hear you.

**

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**

Okay, well here's the chapter, hope you enjoyed it!

I do not remember where I got the song lyrics, all I know that it was from an anime or something. Sorry! 


	8. Wake Me Up Inside

_**I've Been Sleeping Until I Met You**_

**_Chapter 8: Wake Me Up Inside_**

* * *

Time changes us. It changes us for better and for worse. It changes us when we least expect it. Time takes things from us, and time gives things to us as well. But all in all, time will eventually heal you, whether today or tomorrow, the next day or in the next few years. It always heals.

That's what you learned, time takes things from you.

Folding Yume's old clothes gently, putting them into a box to discard. You could remember clearly, each thing you bought her, all the memories came rushing back to you, with every item that once belonged to her was put into the large box.

A couple other boxes were by your front door, you were moving out of your apartment into Gaara's office, which was also a house. Temari and Gaara had ordered you to do so, since this past week you hadn't uttered a word. They were afraid to take their eyes off of you.

Temari leaned against a wall, her arms crossed slightly as she waited for you. She had offered to help but you didn't utter a word, so Temari didn't know what to do but stand there waiting.

As soon as you were packed Temari offered a small smile, in her eyes she held sympathy. "I can throw those things away for you," She offered, reaching out to take the box of Yume's old items from you. You nodded once slightly and let her take the box. Temari took it and headed out your door.

"I'll meet you back at the office," She said as you picked up your other boxes.

Once at the Kazekage's office as well as home Kankuro met you at the door to help take your boxes. He had a grim look on his face, which was a surprise since normally he had a certain eye squint or smile on his face. "I'll take your stuff to your room," Kankuro said, you nodded and without a word handed him your items and followed him to your new room.

Once inside you looked around, it was a nice room. The walls were a lovely cream color and there was a good view from the window. Despite the warm surrounding, everything seemed so cold to you.

Gaara and Temari walked into your room, Temari managed a small smile for you. "I hope you like this room, it's kind of similar to how your apartment looked."

You nodded once more weakly and licked your lips. "It's nice..Thank you." The Sand Siblings blinked and fell silent, theses were the first words you had uttered in a week.

You glanced at them before taking a deep breathe as a thought hit you. 'I can't mope forever, I need to move on, no matter how empty this life will seem..' You smiled gently. "What's wrong with you three? It looks like you've all seen ghosts or something."

Kankuro smiled at you, as he did that eye squint thing. "The real question is, are you ok?" Temari's eye twitched slightly before she quickly brought out her fan, hitting Kankuro over the head with it. "Idiot.." she muttered under her breathe.

You giggled slightly at their fighting. "I'm not totally ok, if that's what you mean, but, I can't let my daughter's death rule my life."

Gaara stared at you, his own thoughts running through his mind, thinking about your words. "…."

You glanced at him, realizing his green-eyed stare was still on you, you looked away, with a small blush, and slight shame, you felt as if he was reading your mind, invading the small crevices of your heart.

Temari smiled gently once more at you before heading towards the door. "Ok then, Itami-chan. We'll just leave you to pack."

You smiled gently and nodded. "Thank you."

You watched as Temari and Kankuro left. Gaara hesitated few moments, he stared at you without talking, and you, not knowing what to do, simply stared back until Gaara left, closing the door softly behind him,

I sweat dropped for a few seconds before I began to unpack my stuff. After getting most of the things I had put away I stopped to look out the window. The view was nice, I could see the hills of Suna, the sun would rise from the window, and I could see the starts perfectly.

'Yume would love this view..' I thought, I allowed another tear to slide from my eyes. I couldn't help but laugh under my breathe. 'I really have to stop this crying,' I thought, wiping my eyes dry.

As the sun started to fall, I left my room in search of the Sand siblings. walking to Gaara's office I notice him leave. You raised an eyebrow at him. "Where are you going?" you asked.

Gaara glanced at you. "The mission," He replied simply. "I took you off of it, but I still need to go."

Your heart beat quickened. "Alone?" you asked, fear bubbling in the pit of your stomach. Gaara simply nodded and walked off to go on the mission.

You ran up next to him. "Let me go, I'm ready to go on the mission again."

Gaara shook his head. "No."

"But why?"

"You might be tempted to take the mission farther than it needs to go, because of your condition, and I can't allow that."

'Basically, he thinks I might become a kamikaze ninja and try to avenge Yume's death,' you clarified in your mind. That wasn't the reason you wanted to go though.

You watched Gaara walk away again. Fear was still in the pit of your stomach. 'He can take care of himself, but what if, there are too many people, he could get hurt..' you thought.

Running in front of him your gave him a quick hug, then let go after a moment. During that moment you could feel his body stiffen under your touch, since he wasn't used to affection.

You looked down, letting the bangs fall over your eyes so he couldn't see your emotions. "I'm sorry, but, just be careful.." You said, then you looked up with a small smile. "I don't want everyone I care about to die."

Gaara's eyes widened for a split second before he showed no emotion on his face again as always.

Gaara shook his head slightly, a small smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. "Fine," was his simple reply as he walked off to do his job as Kazekage.

You smiled a little. 'He'll be ok, he doesn't need me to tell him so,' you thought with a gentle smile. Looking out into the night's darkness you thought of the words you told him.

"I don't want everyone I care about to die.."

It was at the moment that you realized how much you care about Gaara. Since you've been friends with him for the past few years, you finally realized, with each coming and going year, you fell in love with him.

You smiled again as you looked out at the moon, not really thinking anything, but feeling, at this moment, awake, since, all other moments in your life, it's been as if you were sleeping through life, not conscious of the world until this very moment.

Gaara leaned against a tree in the outskirts of Suna, this was the last day of the mission, since he already got the information he needed from one of the more talkative assassins.

Looking at the moon, Gaara couldn't help but let a small simple smirk play on his lips.

"I don't want everyone I care about die.."

Gaara closed his eyes for a few brief moments. 'She cares about me,' Gaara mused. 'She cares about a monster..'

Gaara looked up at the moon. 'I never loved anyone, but the way I feel about Itami-chan, is the closet thing to love I've ever felt..'

Waiting for another sleepless night to end, Gaara realized something, instead of that monotonous feeling he had, the feeling of not being awake nor being asleep, he realized how awake he felt.

Temari and Kankuro sat in Gaara's office, simply talking. Temari smirked slightly. "It seems that Gaara likes Itami-chan.," she glanced at Kankuro and smiled. "And so do you."

Kankuro sniffed and turned his head away. "What's it to you?" Kankuro had known all along that you had liked Gaara, despite all his attempts to change it, and have you turn your affections on him.

Temari watched her brother, she felt some sadness for him, but even she knew, that Itami loved Gaara. "We should be glad for Gaara, maybe this way he'll find happiness.."

Kankuro sighed, admitting defeat. "I guess.."

You sighed as you closed your window and unpacked the last of your clothes. As you put the last of your clothes into drawers and the closet you couldn't help but think of Gaara, and waiting for his return.

**

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Okay, well here's the chapter, hope you enjoyed it!**

**Please, constructive criticism/comments, and all that good stuff, it's always very helpful!**


	9. Blessings

_**I've Been Sleeping Until I Met You**_

**_Chapter 9: Blessings_**

* * *

Night slowly, and finally, blossomed into day. Gaara let out a small sigh as he made his way home. 'This was the last night of the mission, finally it's over..' The mission had taken two weeks, and finally one bunch of weak assassins told Gaara everything, for they fears losing their lives.

Waking up early that day you grabbed some clothes and got ready for the morning. After showering, you decided to look for Temari or Kankuro, wondering what they were doing. You found Temari in Gaara's office, sitting at his desk sorting through papers.

She looked up at you, quirking an eyebrow, wondering what you wanted. You smiled a little. "Morning," You offered, walking over to the desk, trying to peek at the work. Temari smirked a little. "How was your first night here?" She asked, shuffling through more papers, each had missions and complaints and other letters from the people of Suna.

You shrugged a little. "Ok, thank you for letting me live with your guys," You said. Temari smiled gently before going back to her work.

Walking around the office you looked at out the window, people were already up, getting an early start, trying to beat the hot afternoon. Temari watched you from the corner of her eyes. 'She likes Gaara, she should know what she's in for,' Temari thought as she put the papers away, she'd let Gaara do the rest when he got back.

"Itami-chan," Temari started slowly, getting up and leaning on the desk, her arms crossed over her chest.

You looked up from the window, arching an eyebrow, waiting for her to speak.

"You, you're in love with Gaara aren't you?"

You glanced at Temari, and blushed a little before looking down a little. Playing with your hands you nodded slightly. "Yes, I care about him a lot.."

Temari nodded, her mouth forming the shape of a small smile. "I know you do, can you answer me a question though?"

"Hmm?"

"Why?"

You looked at Temari, confusion on your face. "Why what?"

"Why do you care for Gaara?"

You bit your bottom lip a little as you looked down, the heat rose to your face even more. 'This is awkward talking about this, especially with Gaara's sister!' You thought a moment before smiling a little and glancing up at her. "Because," You looked out the window and smiled a little. "To me, he represents stability, I guess, something that won't change when everything else seems to be moving so fast. And, when I talk to him, I don't know, there are things I never tell anyone, but when it comes to him, I want to tell him everything.."

Temari blinked slowly as she looked at you. She smiled a little. "You know, you're the only one who ever broke thorough him. You'll make each other happy."

You blinked a little and watched Temari before sweat dropping. 'What, is she giving me permission to love Gaara or something? Not like I needed it, but, it's nice to know she accepts me.'

Then. you did something you never did to anyone, no one was this important to you. Facing Temari you bowed a little, "Thank you," You said, smiling a little. Temari simply nodded and smiled a little. "You're welcome."

Walking over to the door, you opened it, getting ready to leave, you eyes widened as you saw Gaara, he was simply leaning against the wall next to the door, his arms crossed across his chest, his head bent down as If he was listening to what you and Temari were talking about.

You could feel the heat rise quickly up to your face. You managed to put a smile on, closing your eyes a little, as well as sweat dropping. "Oh! G-Gaara-kun! I didn't know you were there," Gaara pushed himself off the wall and watched you, slowly blinking. "I'm sorry Temari and I took up your time in your office," You continued, rubbing the back of your head, chuckling nervously.

A small smirk tugged at Gaara's lips. "Doesn't matter, I don't mind," He answered without emotion as he stepped into his office, meeting Temari at his desk.

You glanced at Temari and noticed the grin on her face. Your eye twitched before you blushed more, out of anger this time.

'She knew Gaara was out there all along! That sneaky little!' You glared with anger as she simply shook her head before looking over Gaara's shoulder, watching what he was doing.

"Grrr!" You finally said, as you walked away, grumbling under your breathe. "I'll get her for this.."

As you walked back to your room you spotted Kankuro, he was walking up the stairs about to go to his room. He smiled a little at you. "Hey, Itami-chan," You smiled at him. "Hi,"

Kankuro looked you over a light blush coming to his face, under all the paint. 'Itami-chan looks so fine today!' he thought, before perverted thoughts ran through his mind.

Your eye twitched slightly, you knew the look he gave you, it was just like all the other looks guys gave you. "…."

Kankuro shook his head and looked at you. "Itami-chan, can I talk to you for a little bit?"

You looked at him closely before nodded with a small sigh. "Sure."

Kankuro smiled a little as he walked beside you, before taking you by the hand, leading you to the balcony.

You watched him, raising an eyebrow and sweat dropping. 'He scares me, what's he going to do, oh crud, not another rape.. , '

Kankuro opened the door to the balcony and lead you outside. He leaned against a the rail looking out, as you leaned against the wall, waiting for him to speak.

Kankuro looked over Suna before taking a deep breathe and closing his eyes. 'I'd better do it now, it's now or never.'

He glanced back at you, your face full of light, pensive at the moment as well as curious as you waited for him. He sweat dropped mentally. 'Why does she have to look so darn sexy?!'

Kankuro walked over to you and leaned against the wall beside you. "you really like my brother, don't you?"

You sweat dropped and rolled your eyes. 'Another drill..' You smiled a little. "I do,"

Kankuro nodded. "Meaning you feel nothing for me.."

You glanced up at him just as he quickly pulled you close to him, gently kissing you on the lips.

You pulled away from him after a moment, not in disgust but in confusion and surprise. "K-Kankuro?" You asked confused.

Kankuro looked down as he let you go. "I'm in love with you Itami-chan, and I wanted you to know."

You watched him, with sad eyes. "Kankuro..I.." You couldn't find to words to say. Sure you knew he watched you as a pervert, but you didn't know how he felt.

Kankuro looked up and smiled at you. "I want you to be happy, Itami-chan, just let me have that much. Even if it is my brother, if he makes you happy, then, I'll be glad for you."

You could feel the tears fall from your eyes, this was the sweetest thing anyone has said to you.

Kankuro watched you. "Tears, I don't do well with tears," He said, smiling a little, You smiled as well, wiping them away. "I'm sorry,'

Kankuro shook his head. "Eh, doesn't matter, but hey, promise me, if Gaara ever does anything to make you cry you come to me and I'll deal with the punk, ok?"

You smiled a little and hugged Kankuro. You could feel his arms wrap around you tightly as if he didn't want to let you go, as if he wished he could change everything so that you would love him instead of Gaara.

"I promise," You muttered letting go and walking away.

Kankuro smiled as he watched you. "Good, sayonara, Itami-chan."

You watched as Kankuro over looked Suna again, a sad look on his face. 'I'm sorry Kankuro, I really am, but, you'll find someone better than me..' you thought, as you walked to your room, but on a good note, you knew that you had both Temari's and Kankuro's blessing with Gaara.

**

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Okay, well here's the chapter, hope you enjoyed it!**

**Please, constructive criticism/comments, and all that good stuff, it's always very helpful!**


	10. Spill My Heart Out

_**I've Been Sleeping Until I Met You**_

**_Chapter 10: Spill My Heart_**

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Ever have that feeling when everything felt right? Where, despite the fact your world could be crashing down, and you could be falling into this eternal spiral of darkness, but then, something happens, and that doesn't seem to matter? That's how it was for you last night in Gaara's arms. In the midst of your sadness, losing Yume, that small hurt you felt for Kankuro, that embarrassment Temari made you go through, it was all forgotten as you sat by Gaara, his arms around you, showing affection for you, a rare thing he did for any one.

Yesterday had passed by slowly, you rarely got to see Gaara, since he was busy. If you did get to see Gaara, it was only when he was leaving, or coming back, then going straight to his office.

Walking around the building you took the chance to explore, to learn more about the Sand Siblings, but once that got boring, you simply went to your room and onto your balcony to look outside, meditating in your own way.

Night slowly crept up behind you, ending the day, and as you hoped, ending Gaara's work.

You looked out at Suna from your balcony. It was such a warm night, the breeze was so gentle, the theme, 'Take me away' went through your mind as you closed your eyes, embracing the winds' gentle whisper.

Finally, the cool breeze became addicting. From your balcony you jumped onto the room to star at the bright stars. Sitting on the risen part of the roof you hugged your knees to your chest, looking up into the night sky. Closing your eyes you let the wind embrace you, as if it was a comforting arm saying everything will get better in time.

You didn't know you had someone by my side until you saw the long shadow beside me. You turned my eyes slightly to see Gaara from the corner of my eyes. You couldn't help but smile lightly as you noticed Gaara take a seat beside you.

For a while, he was quiet, he simply stared out at the moon, something he always did. You remained quiet as well, words would only ruin the moment, this silence was a silence that only hearts could hear and comprehend..

Gaara finally looked at you from the corner of his tired eyes. "How are you?" He asked. He didn't ask this to be random, he didn't ask this and expected the answer, 'Oh, I'm fine today, and how are you?' But he meant this by, 'how are you fairing, is it still a hard struggle for you?'

You shrugged your shoulders a little and didn't answer for a small moment. "I'm fine, I guess," you said with a small smile.

Gaara kept an intent stare on you. "I doubt that's true,"

You looked up from resting your head on your knees. "Huh?" You asked, your attention caught.

"You smile, but you don't believe in it. Your smile isn't real, I can see right through it."

A blush came to your cheeks, no one had ever said that to you. Maybe people didn't see it, as Gaara saw it, or maybe no one cared enough to mention.

You returned your gaze back down to your knees, becoming fascinated with the stitch work of your pants.

Gaara continued to watch you. "People like you shouldn't hide behind smiles. People like you should feel the happiness you show."

You looked up at Gaara. His eyes were dead serious, they always were, but still. His words made your heart beat in a weird irregular way.

Your eyes met Gaara's intense stare. His hand reached out to touch your cheek. "You should feel the happiness you make others around you feel.."

The heat rushed up your neck and into your face even more. "I didn't know I had that effect on people," You admitted, looking down, unable to keep the gaze.

Gaara tilted your chin once more. "You make me happy, Itami-chan. A feeling I thought I would never experience for anyone, let alone, with anyone.."

You smiled gently at Gaara, a small sincere smile of happiness, before the tears fell. You cursed yourself mentally at your bad timing for crying. You weren't even PMS-ing and you were an emotional wreck.

Gaara felt his hand move to wipe a tear away. This was already too much for him. he had said things he never would say to anyone, he wouldn't even caress anyone the way he would caress you. 'You don't know the hold you have on me..' Gaara thought over and over throughout the day earlier..

"Why are you crying?" Gaara simply asked.

You searched his aquamarine eyes before letting more tears fall. Soon you found yourself telling Gaara everything, not just about how you feel about Yume's death, but everything, as in from when you first met him. Your struggle with your uncle, your struggle with Yume and what went on as you grew older.

Gaara simply listened to you, not speaking a word, letting you speak until you felt your peace.

You wiped a final stray tear form your eye, still cursing yourself after wards. 'What happened to me? I can't cry like this, a shinobi isn't supposed to show emotions no matter what the circumstances,' You glanced at Gaara from the corner of your eyes. 'Especially in front of Gaara…'

Gaara watched as you wiped your tears, somehow, he was glad that you talked to him, spilled this to him, he felt more connected with you, somehow.

You smiled a little. "You must think I'm weak, saying all of this," You thought.

A small smirk tugged at Gaara's lips, but, since he was used to it, he simply pushed it back, keeping his face straight.

"No. I don't think you're weak. It must have been difficult to hide all of that and keep it in."

Gaara had his own secrets as well, but he was so used to having no emotions that they didn't bother him at all, and for a person who still felt, this was a lat to carry.

You watched Gaara, somehow a small smile spread across your lips. "Thank you," You muttered, watching his features. "For listening to me."

Gaara looked away from you and looked up to the sky, watching the moon. He heard you, he wasn't ignoring you. He was simply thinking, just thinking of what to say to you. Talking to you, had never been a n easy job for him.

"I don't mind," He answered finally, looking back at you, and turning gently in his direction. "I'd do anything to make sure you're happy." These words were words Gaara had never comprehended until he met you.

Until he met you, his emotions have been buried away, asleep, for what he assumed that would be forever. But he realized…

"I've Been Sleeping Until I Met You, Itami-chan.."

Your eyes widened slightly at his words. That was how you felt about him as well, as if you were living in an eternal sleep, only watching yourself from a rearview mirror, then meeting Gaara again, it was like waking up, and realizing not everything that was beautiful was a dream.

You smiled a little, another small, genuine smile.

The night wind embraced two souls. As Gaara titled your head up slightly he moved closer to kiss you gently on the lips.

His kiss was sweet, and gentle, surprising you. Tough closing your eyes you moved into his kiss, realizing this is what you've been searching for all along. Someone who'd care for you, for you..

Eventually you and Gaara did pull apart, You gave him a close-eyed smile before resting your head on his chest.

At this moment a small smirk replaced Gaara's normally serious face as he watched you.

The wind continued to blow into the night, wrapping the both of you up, showing that being awake, wasn't always so bad..

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Fin

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The final installment of _I've Been Sleeping Until I Met You_! (I had to get it done, it was taking up too much memory on my laptop.)

Once again, I do not own the story, that belongs to the creator of Naruto: Masashi Kishimoto. I own the basic plotline of this story and I own Migoto Itami, Migoto Yume, and Itami's old teamamtes. Other than that, Kankuro, Gaara, Temari, and everyone else basically belongs to Kishimoto! Even though this story is over, I hope you contiune reading my stuff! 

**Please, constructive criticism/comments, and all that good stuff, it's always very helpful!**


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